Getting to and from SFO: taxi, rideshare, transit & the cell-phone lot

The quickest way to San Francisco airport is usually a taxi or a rideshare: a taxi runs about $55–$75 to Downtown San Francisco, and Uber & Lyft pick up in a marked pickup zone. Picking someone up instead? Wait free at the SFO Cell Phone Waiting Lot. Below: every way to and from the airport, what it costs, whether to park or grab a ride, and how to fold the drive into your Leave-By Time so you reach security with room to get through the line. Check SFO TSA wait times today before you decide when to leave.

Picking someone up? Wait free at SFO Cell Phone Waiting Lot. At North McDonnell Rd. and San Bruno Ave., San Francisco, CA 94128 - one freeway exit from the terminals, about a 5-7 minute drive to any terminal's Arrivals level. Free, and vehicles must stay attended. There's a posted limit of about 60 minutes, so wait there until your traveler has their bags and is at the curb. Follow North McDonnell Rd. to San Bruno Ave.; the lot is signed. Free parking for up to 60 minutes (active waiting only). Hours vary by source - some listings show an overnight closure (roughly 1-5 a.m.) while others list it as 24/7 - so confirm before a red-eye.

Leaving a car for the trip instead of getting dropped off? It's worth checking the lots: compare SFOparking by price & distance.

Domestic (Terminals 1-3) Uber/Lyft pickups are on Level 5 of the Domestic Garage, each terminal with a labeled zone in the garage core; International Terminal pickups are on the Departures/Ticketing Level center island at zones 14-17. Domestic rideshare pickups moved off the curb and up into the Domestic Garage Level 5 (since June 3, 2025) - take the pedestrian walkway from the terminal to the garage core, not the AirTrain. Drop-offs stay curbside on Departures.

Dropping off? Drop off curbside on the Departures Level (or use the Kiss & Fly at the Rental Car Center, then take the free AirTrain to your terminal). No waiting at the curb - parked/unattended vehicles are fined. SFO has 4 terminals (1, 2, 3, International), so confirm your airline's before your driver commits to a curb — find your terminal at SFO.

SFO sits about 13 miles from Downtown San Francisco, a drive of roughly 20–45 minutes via US-101 N (Bayshore Freeway) to Downtown SF; I-380 connects to US-101 — closer to the high end at rush hour. That drive time is the first input into your Leave-By Time, so the calculator counts it backward from your flight along with today's security wait and the walk to your gate.

By rail, your option is BART (Yellow Line) — figure about 30 minutes to Downtown San Francisco. Ride the free AirTrain to the SFO BART station in the International Terminal, then take BART (Yellow Line) directly into downtown San Francisco - about 30 minutes to Embarcadero. Tap a Clipper card or contactless card/phone at the fare gates; from the domestic terminals take the AirTrain to the International Terminal/BART station.

Fare: About $11.15 one-way to downtown SF stations (Embarcadero/Montgomery/Powell), including the SFO airport premium surcharge; the AirTrain to the BART station is free. Pay by Clipper or contactless tap.

Hotel courtesy shuttles board at the designated shuttle zones on the Arrivals Level; SamTrans public buses (e.g., 398/292) also serve SFO from the Arrivals Level. If a shuttle is part of your plan, add its ride time to your Leave-By Time — it's easy to forget the 15–20 minutes between the curb and the terminal.

Here's the math. Parking starts around $7/day, while a round-trip taxi or rideshare to Downtown San Francisco runs about $130. So a round trip by car comes out ahead once you're away more than about 19 days — for a quick trip, parking usually costs less; for a long one, getting a ride does.

Want the exact trade-off for your dates? compare SFOparking by price & distance — the closest lot isn't always the one that costs the least.

Wheelchair-accessible taxis via the taxi coordinator or by dialing *1107 on any courtesy phone; accessible Uber/Lyft and ADA pickup are available at the Domestic Terminal curb (ADA ramps at Terminals 2 and 3) or on the ADA-accessible Level 5 garage.

Late or overnight arrival? BART runs roughly 5 a.m.-midnight (Yellow Line to SFO); after it closes, taxis and rideshare operate 24/7 and SamTrans 398 runs overnight. The cell phone lot may close overnight (some listings show roughly 5 a.m.-1 a.m.) - confirm before late arrivals.

Returning a rental on the way out? SFO Rental Car Center, 780 N. McDonnell Road - reached via the AirTrain Blue Line (second-to-last stop); return your car there and AirTrain back to your terminal. (We cover where to return a car, not where to book one.)

If a fare or a schedule points you elsewhere, the closest airport we cover is OAK (Oakland), about 11 miles from SFO in a straight line. The same math on this page — drive time, ride cost, security wait — decides whether the extra distance is worth it.